Voices For Life

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. We cover issues from conception until natural death, as well as all family life issues.

Friday, November 18, 2016

By Maria Gallagher, Legislative PAC DirectorPennsylvania Pro-Life FederationIt’s a practice so horrific, it is painful to even describe.

Dismemberment abortion is a ghastly method by which the life of an innocent preborn child is ended, violently, brutally—at a time when she may be developed enough to grasp with her hands, suck her thumb, and feel pain.

Statistics indicate 1,550 of our Commonwealth’s preborn children died from dismemberment abortion in 2014, the latest year for which figures are available from the state Health Department

“The fetus, in many cases, dies just as a human adult or child would: It bleeds to death as it is torn apart limb by limb. The fetus can be alive at the beginning of the dismemberment process and can survive for a time while its limbs are being torn off. The process of dismembering the fetus continues until it has been completely removed. A doctor may make 10 to 15 passes with the forceps to evacuate the fetus in its entirety, though sometimes removal is completed with fewer passes.

Once the fetus has been evacuated, the placenta and any remaining fetal material are suctioned or scraped out of the uterus. The doctor examines the different parts to ensure the entire fetal body has been removed.” [Underlining added.]

Over the past year, so many women have come to me, asking when we will see an end to the heinous practice of dismemberment abortions in Pennsylvania. Certainly, there is widespread support for such a ban. Polling last year indicated an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians approved of a ban, with the level of support actually higher among female respondents.Article continues